


Shark Attack

by madlaw



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Betrayal, F/F, First Kiss, Friendship, Identity Reveal, Loyalty, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-16 22:07:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12351513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madlaw/pseuds/madlaw
Summary: “Lee that’s like asking me how I learned to breathe; I don’t know, but I need it to survive.”





	Shark Attack

**Author's Note:**

> This seemed a good story line when I started writing it, but I'm not sure it really turned out the way I intended. But in any case, here it is!
> 
> As always, all comments are welcome. Feed the author!

Everyone knows Lena Luthor, CEO of L-Corp, only grants interviews to one reporter, Kara Danvers. But Dinah Gracelyn wasn’t going to let that minor inconvenience stop her. She’s Snapper Carr’s latest hire for the news department at CatCo Media; she’d relocated from Metropolis after four years as a reporter for the Daily Plant.

Dinah oozed charm and confidence; she’d interviewed Metropolis’ most important and elite public figures. She has no doubt she’ll win Ms. Luthor’s favor without too much effort. Some junior reporter still wet behind the ears doesn’t stand a chance against her.

So Dinah doesn’t expect too much trouble when she appears without an appointment at L-Corp. She’s been charming executive assistants for a long time; in fact, they’re some of her most crucial sources. But she’d never met Jess.

“May I help you?” Jess greets professionally as she appraises the woman critically. “Hi, I’m Dinah Gracelyn from CatCo. I was wondering if I could get a few minutes of Ms. Luthor’s time. I just want to introduce myself as I’ll be covering tech news for CatCo moving forward.”

Jess does not answer immediately. Dinah’s face brightens subtly with an ingratiating smile. But nothing can disguise the hardened glint in her icy eyes.

“Ms. Danvers conducts all interviews with Ms. Luthor.”

Dinah adopts a caring façade, glancing away for a moment and biting her lower lip, her voice whisper soft. “It’s really not my place to say, but it’s been decided I’m a better fit to cover L-Corp news.”

Jess doesn’t believe her for a minute; immediately seeing Dinah for a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

It had taken Jess awhile to warm up to Kara. She’d always been leery of reporters, as more often than not all they wanted was to scoop their competition; the more scandalous the story the better, even if the truth became collateral damage.

Jess holds great affection for her boss and has been her assistant since Lena first started working at Luthor Corp. So when Ms. Luthor first gave Ms. Danvers unfettered access, Jess anticipated the other shoe would fall eventually and L-Corp, and by extension Ms. Luthor, would be the subject of an unflattering and damaging expose along with the resulting PR nightmare.

But it’s been over a year and Kara has shown herself to be an ethical and skilled reporter, not once writing anything untrue or unfair; she’d defended Ms. Luthor through the repeated scandals created by her family without exception. She’s also proven herself a caring person and a true friend.

Kara’s demonstrated to Jess she’s genuine and humble. By now Kara knows most of the employees at L-Corp by name, their families, and is never too rushed to stop and chat. She’d brought Trevor, Ms. Luthor’s driver, cupcakes for his birthday and memorized Jess’ coffee preferences so she could bring some whenever Jess and Ms. Luthor work late.

So Jess immediately decides this snake will not be slithering into Ms. Luthor’s proverbial garden.

“I’m sorry Ms. Jacein…”

“It’s Gracelyn, but please, call me Dinah.”

“As I was saying,” Jess continues, ignoring the correction and invitation, “Ms. Luthor’s time is extremely valuable; no one sees her without an appointment.” Jess doesn’t think the snake needs to know Kara’s the only one allowed unfettered access or else she’ll show up in a Kara costume next. She should’ve never been able to get up to this floor without an escort or approval from Jess or Ms. Luthor anyway; someone will be fired as soon as she gets to the bottom of it. “If you leave me your card, I will pass your request along.”

Admittedly Dinah has never encountered as skilled a guardian. She recognizes Jess’ thinly veiled disgust; but Dinah rose in the ranks of a male-dominated profession by persisting. “I’d be happy to wait all day if necessary.”

Now Jess drops the veneer of civility. She knows Ms. Luthor will not reprimand her for taking a firm hand with this attempted interloper. She presses the security button below her desk.

“That will not be possible; this is a restricted area.” Before Dinah can say anything, she notices Jess looking past her and senses movement. “Good morning Josh. Ms. Jacein” Jess emphasizes, “was just leaving. Please escort her and let security know she’s not to be granted admittance unless countermanded by Ms. Luthor personally.”

Once the woman’s gone, Jess buzzes Ms. Luthor’s. “Yes, Jess?”

“There was a reporter here from CatCo…” Lena interrupts her. “You mean Kara? Did you have a tiff over the upcoming bachelorette party for Tess in HR? Because I’m sure…”

“No, no Ms. Luthor, nothing like that; it’s impossible to get mad at Kara. But there was a reporter here claiming to be from CatCo and trying to get in to see you.”

Lena gets a faraway look in her eye. “I think you better come in Jess.”

“Yes, Ms. Luthor.”

“Tell me all about this reporter; don’t leave anything out.”

After Jess explains Lena texts Kara for a change of lunch plans. They were going to eat at the office, but Lena texts her to meet at Noonan’s at 12:30.

 

* * *

 

Lena leaves L-Corp promptly at 12. She immediately sees a woman fitting Dinah’s description following her. Noonan’s is only a five-minute walk, so Lena arrives early and requests their usual booth in the back. It’s one of Kara’s sentimental pleasures, but Lena makes sure Kara always gets what she wants. Kara doesn’t know Lena pays the restaurant a monthly stipend to keep it available at all times.

Within a minute and without invitation, Dinah slides in across from Lena. Lena looks at her expressionlessly, her tone dripping danger. “Can I help you?”

“I apologize Ms. Luthor, but I’m just so impressed with L-Corp’s new direction under your leadership and I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Dinah Gracelyn and I’ve been hired to cover tech news for CatCo media.”

“Where is Kara Danvers?” Lena inquires blandly.

“Kara’s great, everyone likes Kara. But there are some issues I’m not at liberty to discuss that will make our partnership a more…productive one.” Dinah aims for a seductive tone and it’s all Lena can do to not laugh in her face.

Lena stands suddenly with smiling eyes, confusing Dinah; Kara’s heading their way. As usual she hugs Lena, smiling wildly, while going on with one of the rants Lena finds adorable. “Sorry I’m late; Ms. Grant needed…” Lena cuts her off gently, because as endearing as Kara’s rants are, something more important needs to be addressed right now.

“It’s quite alright darling; I’d like to introduce you to…” Lena feigns forgetting Dinah’s name and pauses for a second, “your new coworker it seems.” Kara looks unconcerned, but clearly has never met Dinah. “Hi, I’m Kara,” she introduces herself smiling. Dinah gives Kara a fake smile. “Dinah Gracelyn.”

“Kara, Dinah seems to be under the impression she will be replacing you as my liaison with CatCo on tech matters. I’m a bit surprised,” Lena says, feigning confusion while she gestures Kara to sit across from her, pointedly expecting Dinah to stand.

“Not more surprised than I am,” Kara blurts. “Well we have a meeting this afternoon, so I’m sure Snapper will let us know of any changes,” Kara says confidently.

She looks at Dinah sweetly, not wanting to hurt her new colleague’s feelings. “I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding, but I really look forward to working with you,” Kara smiles widely.

Before Dinah can respond Lena stands but doesn’t extend her hand. “You’ll have to excuse us Dinah.” Lena waits until she’s gone. “It looks like you’ve picked up some treacherous competition.”

Kara shrugs her shoulders, carefree. “I’m sure it was an innocent mistake; I’ll clear it up later.

But enough about her,” Kara decides, giving Lena the ‘Danvers-Luthor’ smile. “How’s your day been?” she asks sympathetically. “I saw Maxwell Lord is trying to exploit anti-alien sentiment to your detriment again.”

Lena can’t help the warm affection shining from her eyes. Kara’s always paying attention to every facet of Lena’s life, not as a reporter, but as Lena’s friend. She’s authentic in a way Lena’s never seen in another person.

They spend their lunch commiserating about their frustrations and successes and as usual Lena feels her time with Kara flies by too quickly.

 

* * *

 

Usually Kara’s the first one to arrive to Snapper’s meetings, but Dinah’s already there. Snapper’s wearing his usual ‘I hate you all’ look, but he’s listening to whatever Dinah’s saying. Before Kara can use her super-hearing, the meeting starts. Meeting is probably too generous a term since all that happens is Snapper orders everyone around and reporters cower while stuttering answers.

“Danvers, get over to L-Corp and get a comment from your friend on Lord’s morning press-conference!” Kara just nods, but then Dinah speaks up. “Sir, I should probably cover it since I actually understand the mechanics of the technology Mr. Lord referenced today.”

Everyone looks at Kara, who’s now a bit uncomfortable, but she can’t deny she understands what the technology does, but not how it works. So she doesn’t say anything, just straightens her blouse and looks away, fidgeting with her glasses. She wants to remind Snapper the press conference today was Lord’s announcement he supports making the alien registry public and has nothing to do with any specific technology, but Snapper’s already moved on.

He glares at Dinah and ignores her comment. “Martinez, dig into the recent alien attacks; too many to be unrelated,” he snarls.

Dinah lingers when the meeting ends. Kara leaves the room, but eavesdrops on her conversation with Snapper. “Sir, at least let me shadow Ms. Danvers. It will be helpful to understand the current conflict between the pro and anti alien contingents.” James draws her attention and Kara doesn’t listen to the rest of the conversation.

“Fine; just get out of my office!”

Dinah immediately approaches Kara. “Hey Kara, Snapper wants me to shadow you. He thinks I should help you with the article and we can share the byline.”

Kara’s a bit taken aback, but she’s a team player. “Uh…sure. We can head over in an hour or so.” She didn’t listen to the entire conversation, so it’s certainly possible Snapper decided they should work together. Kara smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Lena will never go for this; she’s expressed a clear unwillingness to talk to anyone but Kara.

 

* * *

 

Jess smiles as Kara approaches, three coffees in hand. “Thanks Kara, you’re a lifesaver. I was just feeling the afternoon slump.”

Before Kara can respond Jess notices Dinah. The friendliness disappears instantly as she glares at the other woman. Kara glances at Dinah and then back to Jess with confusion. “It’s okay Jess; this is my colleague, Dinah Gracelyn.” Kara doesn’t know Dinah’s already been to L-Corp.

“We’ve met,” Jess says with disdain.

“Ms. Danvers, as always, you’re welcome to see Ms. Luthor. However, your colleague will have to remain here.” Jess’ sudden mask of professionalism startles Kara, but she understands since Jess doesn’t know Dinah.

“Oh, I’m sure Le-Ms. Luthor won’t mind. We’ll only take a few minutes. She’s already met Dinah.”

“I’m sorry Ms. Danvers, but Ms. Luthor’s made it clear; she does not see anyone without an appointment. You are the only exception.”

Again, Kara’s a bit taken aback by Jess’ tone, but she certainly doesn’t want the assistant to get in trouble with Lena. She smiles warmly at Jess. “Of course; I’ll check with Ms. Luthor first.”

Kara turns to Dinah and barely misses the murderous look she’s directing at Jess. “I’ll be right back.”

Lena smiles warmly at Kara and immediately stands when she enters. “It must be my lucky day; my favorite person twice and with coffee no less!” They share a short hug and move to the couch.

Kara looks slightly chagrined. “Unfortunately, I’m here for a quote. Snapper insisted we get your take on Lord’s position on the alien registry.”

“That’s quite alright Kara; you know I’m more than happy to help you with anything you need.”

“Well the thing is Dinah’s outside because Snapper told her to shadow me since she’s new to National City and it will help her understand the alien controversy so uh would it be okay if she sat in on the interview I promise it will be quick,” Kara rambles.

Lena smiles kindly as Kara runs out of breath. “I think I understood you want your colleague to sit in on our interview?”

Kara smile-huffs and nods her head. Lena’s the only one who understands her rambles other than her sister Alex.

“I’m sorry Kara, but no.” Lena knows her friend doesn’t realize there’s a shark circling in the water. Dinah wants one thing…Kara’s job. It’s probably the first time Lena’s said no to Kara, but it’s for Kara’s protection.

“Please Lena; I just want to help her out.” Kara implores her friend innocently.

“Kara, this is not a good idea for me…but especially for you.” Lena’s been handling hostile press for years so she’s not actually concerned for herself or L-Corp; but she’s not going to facilitate Dinah’s first bite into her friend. “Kara, do you know Dinah tried to get in to see me this morning?”

Lena can tell Kara has no idea by the momentary crinkling of her forehead, but Kara always sees the best in people and trusts probably more easily than she should. “I’m sure she was trying to impress Snapper; I know what it feels like when you’re trying to acclimate to a new place.”

Lena doesn’t bother to point out Dinah’s a seasoned reporter and hardly needs help ‘getting her feet wet’ so to speak. She did some research on Dinah after lunch and there were several instances where the Daily Planet was forced to retract Dinah’s articles due to significant untruths. The latest involved a sealed settlement agreement which led to Dinah’s ‘resignation.’ Jess also contacted Perry White’s assistant at the Planet who described Dinah as a predator.

Lena sighs. She knows telling Kara any of this would be useless. She won’t judge someone based on second-hand accounts or their past. It’s one of the things Lena loves about Kara. It’s the reason Kara believed in her when no one else would even give her the benefit of the doubt.

“Okay Kara, this is what I’m willing to do. You and I will have a candid conversation as we always do. Then you can have Ms. Gracelyn join us and I will give you a succinct quote. I’m just not comfortable trusting anyone else to portray me or L-Corp fairly.”

“You’re the best Lena! I really appreciate it.” Lena shakes her head, but smiles at Kara’s enthusiasm. Without a doubt, Kara will be the death of her.

Their conversation lasts almost an hour with Kara asking pointed questions and pulling no punches. Lena answers candidly and they discuss the danger of Lord’s proposal.

When they’re done, Lena sighs with relief. “I knew you’d make an excellent reporter Kara, but at this rate I expect you to be the youngest recipient of a Pulitzer.” Kara blushes and fidgets with her glasses, whispering “thanks Lena.” Lena squeezes Kara’s hand gently and gets up to buzz Jess.

“Jess please let Ms. Gracelyn through.”

“Yes, Ms. Luthor.” Jess secretly revels in how long she had to wait. Dinah’s been trying hard to repress her anger, but it’s obvious she’s fuming.

Lena’s sitting behind her desk and Kara occupies one of the chairs in front of it. Kara smiles apologetically. “I’m sorry you had to wait so long.”

“I understand Kara. I know your relationship with Ms. Luthor is…special,” she replies cattily. Kara feels the sting of the barb, but doesn’t respond.

Lena wants to jump out of her chair and kick Dinah’s ass literally, but just gives her a stoic look. Dinah will soon feel her wrath in ways much more painful than a bruised backside.

She turns to Kara. “Maxwell Lord’s suggestion the alien registry be made public is nothing more than a xenophobic attack on a refugee population and will only result in increased violence and discrimination.”

Dinah tries to ask a question but Lena stands indicating the interview is over. She walks them to the door. “It was wonderful to see you Kara; we’ll talk soon.” Kara can’t help a low chuckle, recognizing Lena’s needling Dinah for her snark.

When they get back to CatCo, Kara writes the story and sends it to Snapper with a courtesy copy to Dinah. She doesn’t think Dinah deserves to be on the byline since she did not contribute in any way to the article, but she doesn’t want to be antagonistic. Its one article and there’ll be plenty more.

 

* * *

 

Kara’s phone wakes her from a sound sleep; it’s Lena’s ringtone. She picks up the phone and sees it’s almost 2am. “Lena, are you okay?” she asks anxiously.

“If I was, I wouldn’t be calling at 2am Kara,” Lena snaps.

Kara lets the silence build. Lena never speaks to her this way. It’s so shocking she’s not sure how to respond. But a response isn’t required since Lena starts lambasting her immediately.

“I can’t believe you’d betray me Kara! After everything we’ve been through I thought we were friends,” Lena chokes out. Kara can tell Lena’s trying not to cry, but she really has no idea what Lena’s talking about. “Congratulations, you succeeded where everyone else failed; I’m ruined. I hope it was worth it Kara.”

Kara tries to interrupt but realizes Lena ended the call. She’s so stunned, she’s paralyzed. What could possibly make Lena think Kara betrayed her? Alex and Lena are the most important people in her life. She could never betray them; she’d die first.

Kara doesn’t bother to change; taking to the air in her sweatpants and tank top. She’s on Lena’s balcony in less than two minutes. She finds Lena there, a half-empty bottle of scotch in her hand.

Lena looks at her blankly and snorts. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you’ve been keeping half of your life from me.” She looks out to the city and takes a long swallow directly from the scotch bottle.

“Lena, I don’t know what’s going on; you need to talk to me. Please.”

Lena doesn’t answer and won’t look at her. Kara’s worried and scared for her, but she’s also starting to get angry. Lena should at least explain. Kara deserves that much.

She takes the scotch bottle from Lena’s hand. Lena tries to take it back but Kara crushes it to splinters, liquid flowing from her clenched fist.

“Lee, you need to tell me what you think I did. I deserve an explanation at least. I’ve earned it; don’t you think?”

Kara kneels and tries to clasp their hands but Lena yanks hers away. “Don’t touch me,” she snarls.

Kara scoots back a little, but doesn’t stand. “I’m not leaving here until you talk to me Lena.”

“You wrote it,” Lena scoffs, “there’s nothing left for me to say.”

Kara stands slowly thinking about Lena’s words; wrote it. The online edition of CatCo magazine posted at midnight. Kara super-speeds to Lena’s home office and comes back with her laptop. She’s not leaving Lena alone in her condition. The headline jumps from the page, Kara’s name the only one on the byline. “L-Corp Developing Anti-Alien Weaponry”

Kara blanches as she reads the article, parts of which consist of verbatim quotes from Kara’s conversation with Lena yesterday. No wonder Lena’s so convinced Kara betrayed her.

“Lena, I did not write this and I did not reveal a single word of our conversation to anyone. You know I didn’t even take notes.” Kara implores calmly.

The anguish runs rampant through Lena’s body. “Why should I believe you Kara? When you lied to me about being Supergirl? Turns out I was wrong; you’re an excellent liar after all.”

“We will talk about Supergirl later Lena, I promise. But I would never betray you. We’ve known each other for over a year and not once did I ever lose faith in you. I’ve always been relentless when it comes to protecting and defending you; professionally, physically and emotionally. I did not write this article and I did not betray you.”

“Why?” Lena whispers.

“Why what?”

“Why do you care so much?”

Kara sighs, frustrated they’re not focusing on the problem at hand; but maybe if she answers Lena’s questions they can start working on how to fix it. “Lee that’s like asking me how I learned to breathe; I don’t know, but I need it to survive.”

Lena shrugs her shoulders and looks away. Kara’s not sure whether Lena’s decided to believe her or just given up. “It doesn’t matter Kara. It’s out there. I can’t even claim I didn’t say those things because I did.”

“Yes, but they were taken out of context Lee. The article covers only half of the conversation.”

“…I’m terrified…after everything that’s happened recently, L-Corp won’t survive another blow…and neither will I,” she trails off.

“Listen to me Lee. We do not give up; not ever. But you need to sober up so we can figure this out.”

Lena looks at Kara with tentative hope and nods once.

 

* * *

 

Kara’s ending a phone call when Lena gets out of the shower. She hands Lena a cup of coffee and gestures her to sit down at the table.

“Okay, the CatCo website’s offline for now while they remove the article. Winn’s working on a worm to track and erase any downloads. It was up for less than three hours, so hopefully we can minimize the damage. Ms. Grant’s agreed to crash the cover so it won’t appear in the printed version of the magazine. Is there anything else we can do to protect you and L-Corp?”

“Not that I can think of right now. Kara…I…”

“It’s okay Lena, I understand. You panicked.”

Lena nods but she will make this up to Kara…somehow. She should’ve never doubted.

“How’d you get Cat to agree to crash the cover? That’s going to cost her millions.”

“All I did was explain; Ms. Grant’s ethical and honorable and I know people see her as ruthless and she’s that too. But she always does the right thing Lena; those are just some of the things the two of you have in common.” Lena knows the most important thing they have in common; they both love Kara, albeit in different ways.

“We still have to deal with whoever did this Kara.”

“We both know who did it Lee and we will hold her accountable; but we can deal with it tomorrow. I also know you may have to hold a press conference if the article becomes widely disseminated. I’ll do whatever you need me to do to help deal with any blowback.”

Kara can’t help a yawn and exhales deeply. “I think we both need some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”

Lena knows she shouldn’t ask anything else of Kara, but the plea slips from her tongue without permission. “Will you stay with me?”

Kara stills for a second, but then a small smile graces her lips. “Sure. I’m already in my pajamas anyway.”

 

* * *

 

Lena’s stiff under the covers and Kara can hear her erratic heartbeat and feel the tension radiating from her body in waves. It seems sleep’s eluding them both. It’s not the first time they’ve slept in the same bed, but usually they’re both exhausted and Morpheus finds them quickly.

“Come here,” Kara whispers as she tugs Lena gently. Lena hesitates briefly but then turns on her side, her head on Kara’s chest. Kara’s steady heartbeat soothes Lena and she exhales slowly.

“I’m sorry Kara. I should’ve never doubted you. I was caught off guard and my heart splintered…”

“It’s okay Lee…just please…if you ever doubt me, at least give me a chance to explain.”

“I’ll never doubt you again,” Lena vows. Kara’s not so sure, but only time will tell so she lets it drop.

“I just can’t figure out how Dinah heard our conversation. Jess would’ve stopped her if she tried to get close to the door and I didn’t hear anything suspicious. I’m always attuned to my surroundings in the back of my consciousness. Did she enter your office at any point?”

“No. Not until the quote so any listening device would’ve been pointless; we’d already finished the interview.”

“Unless she planted it in your waiting room,” Kara muses. “I know the DEO uses listening devices with no range limit. It works on batteries and a sim card. You call it and it transmits the data. It’s tiny and is limited to battery life, but she wouldn’t have needed long and she was sitting close enough for it to record.”

Lena almost asks about the DEO, but changes her mind; they’ll talk about it when they talk about Supergirl. “So how do we prove it?”

“She’s arrogant enough to still have the bug and the recorded conversation on her phone. She won’t be suspicious until she sees the new cover on the magazine and that won’t happen until 10am or so. Even if she notices the website’s down, that happens periodically. There are benefits to being Supergirl you know,” Kara smirks.

“Too soon Kara…too soon.” Lena chastises.

“Sorry…” Kara places a gentle kiss on Lena’s head and Lena looks up at her. They get lost in each other’s eyes and without thinking Kara leans forward until their breaths mingle. She gives Lena time to move away, but Lena just focuses on Kara’s lips with a hungry look.

Kara closes the distance, their noses lightly grazing, and caresses Lena’s upper lip gently, feeling her respond, her tongue slipping into Kara’s mouth, gentle but demanding, and it’s nothing like Kara’s ever experienced, and she suddenly understands why people describe kissing as melting because everywhere their bodies touch, she dissolves into Lena.

Lena’s fingers grip Kara’s hair, pulling her closer. Kara’s veins throb and her heart explodes. She’s never wanted anyone like this before. Ever.

She shifts on top and Lena thinks the weight of Kara’s body on her is extraordinary. She feels her, all of her, pressed against her and she inhales Kara’s shampoo and the extra scent that’s just…Kara. It’s the most delicious smell she could ever imagine and Lena wants to breathe her, lick her, drink her; Kara’s lips taste like honey and she feels wonderful. It doesn’t matter their mouths are already pressed together, she wants Kara closer…closer…closer.

They tear away from each other panting. Kara gathers Lena in her arms again and Lena tucks her head under Kara’s chin. When they recover, Lena whispers tentatively…“why now?”

“I’ve been wanting…wanting you…for a long time. But I needed to tell you the truth; you needed to know all of me.”

“So why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I think…I think Kara Danvers wanted you all to herself.”

“I think I understand. Now’s not the time to talk about it, but I just want you to know I’m not going anywhere Kara.”

“Zor-El…Kara Zor-El.”

“I’m not going anywhere…Kara Zor-El.”

 

* * *

  

Kara walks into CatCo at 8am; Lena will arrive later to meet with Cat. Winn found the email to Snapper with the revised article on Dinah’s computer. There’s no record of Kara’s original email on Snapper’s workstation, but it’s on CatCo’s mainframe. Winn’s not sure how Dinah erased Kara’s email, but it hardly matters. Both emails are on the server, time-stamped. He also hacked Dina’s phone and found the recording of the interview.

Kara x-rays Dinah’s desk but finds nothing. So when Dinah strolls in at 9am, Kara uses her x-ray vision to examine her purse. Sure enough, the bug is in the zippered compartment of her wallet.

Cat spots Dinah before she gets to her desk. “Ms. Tessmacher, get Dinah in here immediately.” She demands crisply.

When Dinah walks in Cat ignores her. She starts to sit down, but Cat looks up and stares at her menacingly. Dinah remains standing.

Kara and Lena join them a few minutes later and Cat finally looks up. “Please have a seat ladies.” Dinah starts to sit again.

“Not you…hand me your cell phone.”

“I’m sorry Ms. Grant…my cell phone?” Dinah asks, obviously stalling for time.

“Did I stutter? Your cell phone was issued by CatCo Media. I am CatCo Media; as such it belongs to me.”

Cat takes the cell phone and sits it on her desk. “Do you know how I became the Queen of All Media, Dena?” Dinah doesn’t correct Cat and just looks at her blankly. “Nothing escapes me. Because if something escaped me, for example one of my reporters’ willy-nilly committing crimes among other unethical behavior, our stock prices would fall, thousands of people would lose their jobs, the S&P would take a hit and said reporter would have triggered the next recession. But I have no intention of being the next Lehman Brothers. So…nothing escapes me.”

Dinah glares at Kara and Lena out of the corner of her eyes. “Ms. Grant I don’t know what they’ve told you, but it’s obvious it’s Kara behaving unscrupulously. She would do anything to defend Ms. Luthor; they clearly have an unethical relationship.”

“You, Die-nah, would not recognize ethics if they were sown onto your bargain-basement shirt. In case your fruit-fly sized brain still has a doubt; you’re fired.”

As Cat ends her sentence, Maggie arrives and stands by the door.

Lena speaks for the first time. “Did you really think you could outmaneuver a Luthor? Smarter people than you have failed. You want to know why,” Lena asks rhetorically. “Power,” she seethes.

Dinah scoffs, no longer tying to feign innocence. “Oh please, she can fire me, but you can’t touch me.” Cat raises her eyebrow and smirks.

Maggie takes it as the sign for her to join the conversation. “Ms. Luthor, I’ve been assigned to follow up on the report you filed with the precinct earlier. I understand there’s an illegal recording of an interview and you’d like to press charges?”

“Yes, Detective, that’s correct. It was a private conversation and neither Ms. Danvers nor I were aware we were being recorded.”

“May I hear the recording?” Cat plays it and Dinah starts to look a little queasy.

“You can’t prove I have anything to do with it!”

Maggie looks at her professionally. “That’s not my job Ms. Gracelyn; it’s for a jury to decide. Coupled with Ms. Luthor’s and Ms. Danvers sworn statements, however, it does give me probable cause to arrest you. Your arrest also gives me the authority to search you.” Maggie goes straight for the purse and finds the listening device Kara told her about. She bags it and handcuffs Dinah, leading her out of Cat’s office while reading her her rights.

Cat waives Lena and Kara out of her office without another word, the look on her face indicating it’s just another day in the office.

 

* * *

  

Kara hears a knock at her door and uses her x-ray vision to identify her unexpected visitor. She smiles and super-speeds to the door. “Lena!”

Lena smiles shyly, handing Kara a bouquet of plumerias. “I hope its okay that I didn’t call first…”

Kara’s blushing and fidgets with her glasses. “Yes of course! Come in… These are beautiful; thank you.”

“Consider them part of my apology.”

“Lena, you don’t have to keep apologizing. Let’s just move beyond it, okay?”

Lena still doesn’t seem sure, but nods in agreement. Kara looks for a vase and Lena sits on a stool on the kitchen counter.

“So…I wanted to know if you’d have dinner with me Saturday.”

Kara stills and gives Lena a hopeful smile. “Like a date…date?”

“Yes, Ms. Zor-El,” Lena smiles, looking at Kara tenderly.

“Uh…yes! Of course, I’d love to, if you’re sure that would be great…”

Lena stands and ends Kara’s rambling with a kiss.


End file.
